Anticolic straw for nursing bottles



M. LEVY April 29, 1969 Fen NURSING BOTTLES ANTICOLIC STRA'H SheetINVENTOR /7/'/f0n Le vy Filed Aug. 16,

April 29, 1969 M. LEVY 3,441,160

ANTICOLIC STRAW FOR NURSING BOTTLES Filed Aug. 16, 1967 IETMSL Sheet 2of 2 46 9 7 INVENTOR 95 g BY v A: Y ATTURNEE United States Patent3,441,160 ANTICOLIC STRAW FOR NURSING BOTTLES Milton Levy, Woodmere,N.Y. (4347 W. 23rd St., New York, N.Y. 10036) Filed Aug. 16, 1967, Ser.No. 661,112 Int. Cl. A61 9/00; F161: 17/00, 21/04 US. Cl. 215-11 6Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to valve andsiphon attachments particularly suitable for nursing bottles of any sizeand shape and for use with any size or shape nipples.

A number of difiiculties are experienced in using nursing bottles in thefeeding of infants. Among these difiiculties are the following:

('1) The bottle has to be held in an inverted position which is awkwardand causes strain in the arm, neck and shoulder muscles of the baby.

(2) It is believed responsible for a common type of colic in infantscaused by air swallowing. Causes of air swallowing include collapsing ofthe nipple requiring excessive sucking action and the partial filling ofthe nipple with air rather than replacement with liquid as liquid iswithdrawn.

The object of this invention is to provide a nursing bottle straw whichwill prevent an infant from swallowing large amounts of air which isbelieved responsible for a common type of colic known as aerophagia (airswallowing).

Another object of this invention is to provide a nursing bottle strawwhich will siphon the liquid from any size or shape nursing bottle usedwith any shape or size nipple while said bottle is held in any position,permitting the baby to drink the liquid from a sitting position whichwill greatly reduce the strain on arm, neck and shoulder muscles.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment whichmay be fitted to a nursing bottle to transfer the liquid from the bottomportion of the bottle to the nipple in such a manner that the bottle maybe maintained with the nipple end of the bottle upward so as to permitthe user to imbibe the liquid while in a siting position.

It is another object of this invention to provide a nursing bottle strawwith a valve which prevents collapse of the nipple by keeping theinternal portion of the nipple 'filled with liquid.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a nursing bottlestraw which is sanitary, inexpensive to manufacture, long lasting,durable and more reliable in operation than other anti-colic nursingdevices.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a efficient,low-cost straw which can be easily cleaned and sterilized and can bereadily placed in a nursing bottle without being inserted into thenipple.

This invention overcomes the difliculties and disadvantages of priorvalve structures used in anti-colic nursing devices which must beinserted by the mother into the nipple. This anti-colic nursing bottlestraw is placed on the neck of the bottle and does not necessitate thehandling of the nipple by the mother after it has been sterilized.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a siphon devicewhich will enable the baby to empty the bottle completely while in asitting position.

3,441 ,160 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 It is still another object of thisinvention to provide a siphon device suitable for nursing bottles whichbecause of its two-piece construction is readily accessible forinspection and sterilization and which may also be easily stored in aclean bottle between use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a nursing bottlearrangement which greatly reduces the swallowing of air by use of aflexible flap valve.

It is a further object of this invention by use of the flexible flapvalve to greatly minimize the swallowing of air by the user.

It is another object of this invention to provide a valve and assemblywhich is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, reliableand foolproof in operation, which can be readily inspected, easilycleaned and effectively sterilized.

It is another object of this invention to provide an anti-colic nursingbottle straw which can be used on any size neck bottle and with any sizenipple. Prior anti-colic nursing devices can only be used on oneparticular size bottle and nipple whereas this invention, by means oftrimming the circumference of the valve to fit the neck of the bottle,can be universally used and will fit any bottle (small or wide neck) andany size nipple.

Another object of this invention is to provide a valve which will keepthe nipple filled with liquid drawn up from the siphon tube and toprevent said liquid from leaking back into the bottle. This liquid whichis held in the nipple is another means of preventing air from collectingtherein and results in the baby getting a continuous flow of liquid outof the nipple without said liquid being mixed with air thus minimizingthe injurous effects of air swallowing which is one of the predominantcauses of colic in nursing infants.

Brief description of the views of the drawings "FIGURE 1 is a verticalsectional view partially in side elevation of an anti-colic strawembodying the invention shown applied to a nursing 'bottle.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the ilap valve member employed in thebottle of FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 3 and 4 are top and bottom plan views respectively, of the valvemember of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 1 of an anticolicstraw embodying a modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of parts of the straw andassociated parts of the modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a flap valve membertaken on line 3- 3 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on line '44 of FIGURE 7.

Detailed description of the views of the drawings Referring in detail tothe various views of the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown a nursingbottle 10A generally cylindrical having a neck .16 with external threads18 and a fiat upper end edge 17.

In accordance with the invention, an anti-colic straw is positioned inthe center of the bottle extending the length thereof. The strawcomprises an elongated body 44a open at the both ends, with one end, thebottom end as viewed in FIG. 1, slightly curved and terminating adjacentthe juncture between the side and bottom walls of the bottle asindicated at 49". The other top end of the body carries an antiairsucking valve device 40a. The valve device consists of an elongatedtapered body 63 with a central bore 64. The top end as viewed in FIG. 1terminates in an annular flange 36a which seals 011 the top end of thebottle. The body is formed with a tubular extension 60 at the top aroundthe bore 64, the upper end of the extension being closed by a movableflap 62. The lower surface of the flange is provided with an annularcoating of adhesive 68 adjacent the periphery of the surface thereofwhereby the flange device is secured to the top end edge 17 of the neck16 of the bottle 12. The flange can also be adhered to the nipple. Atits bottom end, the bore 64 is enlarged and fitted therein is a top openend of the body 44a of the straw.

A flexible rubber nipple 26a is provided with a bottom flange portion32a seated on the top surface of the flange 36a and secured in positionby an angled internally screw-threaded cap threaded on the externalthreads 18 of the neck 16 of the bottle.

In the use of the straw 44a, the bottle 12 will be filled with milk,fruit juice or other beverage or liquid 50 to any desired extent. Bypressing the external nipple manually a few times between the fingers,the interior 26 of nipple 26a, the straw 44a Will be filled with liquid50' and without need for inverting the bottle. Now the bottle can beturned upright to the position shown in FIG. 1 or can be inclined to anydesired extent, and can be given to a baby for self-feeding.

If the bottle 12 is slightly inclined in a clockwise direction, asindicated by arrow D in FIG. 1, more thorough effective removal of theentire body of liquid 50in the bottle will be effected. The flange 36aof the valve device and nipple 26a defined a closed chamber 26 which isadapted to be filled with liquid 50'.

Flange 36a of the valve member may be provided with a circumferentialgroove or grooves 66 in order to facilitate trimming the flange to fitthe valve member to various sized bottle necks.

When the baby sucks and compresses the nipple 26a, air pressure on thesurface S of the body of liquid will force the liquid up through straw44a and lift flap 46. Compression of the nipple and suction exertedthereon will result in a continuous flow of liquid out of nipple 26athrough hole 27, without a mixture of air bubbles.

In FIGS. 5 to 8, inclusive, a modified form of tubular anticolic strawis shown. In this form, the straw is connected to the nipple 26. Thebody 44 of the straw is shown extending straight downwardly axially ofthe bottle 12 With a slanted bottom open end 47. A valve member 40 isfitted over the top open end of the body of the straw. The valve memberhas a tubular body open at the bottom and closed at the top. The top endof the body of the valve member is provided with an arcuate-shaped slit45, thereby forming a flap 46.

A nipple assembly closes the top end of the bottle 12 and includes anipple 26 formed with an annular groove 34 defining an upper flange 32and a bottom flange 30. A flat disc 36 is secured to the bottom surfaceof the lower flange by adhesive 39. The top portion 22 of an angled cap20 fits in the groove 34 of the nipple 26 and the side portion 28 of thecap is formed with internal screw threads and mesh with the threads 18on the neck .16. A central hole 38 is formed in disc 36 and receives thesqueezed closed top end of the valve member 40, the diameter of thevalve member being larger than the diameter of the hole 38.

The straw 44 functions similarly to straw 44a of FIG. 1. In both formsof the invention, a flow controlling device in the form of a movableflap is provided. The valve membet is simple in construction,inexpensive to manufacture,

reliable and foolproof in operation, easily cleaned and effectivelysterilized.

I claim:

1. A device of the kind described for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle,comprising a valve member having an elongated tapered plastic body witha central bore, an integral peripheral flange on the top end of the bodyadapted to be sealed between the flange of the nipple and the neck ofthe bottle, and an anticolic tubular straw operatively connected to thebottom end of the body, communicating with the bore in the body andextending substantially the length of the bottle.

2. A device of the kind described for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle asdefined in claim 1, wherein the bore at its bottom end is enlarged toreceive fittingly the top end of the straw.

3. A device of the kind described for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle, asdefined in claim 1 wherein the surface of the flange on the body isprovided with a coating of adhesive along its periphery.

4. A device of the kind described for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle, asdefined in claim 1, and an integral tubular extension on the top of thebody around the bore therein, said extension communicating with the borein the body and being closed at the top thereof by a movable flap.

5. A device of the kind described, for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle, asdefined in claim 2, and an integral tubular extension on the top of thebody around the bore therein, said extension communicating with the borein the body and being closed at the top thereof by a movable flap.

6. A device of the kind described for use with a nursing bottle of thetype having a nipple provided with a flange adapted to be compressedagainst the open neck of the bottle so as to close said bottle asdefined in claim 3, and an integral tubular extension on the top of thebody around the bore therein, said extension communicating with the borein the body and being closed at the top thereof by a movable flap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,744,529 5/ 19.5 6 Tichy.2,984,377 5/1961 Biondi 2l5---11 FOREIGN PATENTS 287,382 9/1915 Germany.419,228 10/ 1925 Germany.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 137-5251

